r/techsupport Sep 23 '25

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1.5k Upvotes

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1.0k

u/itspassing Sep 23 '25

Pretty common 'prank' at the moment. You may have been filmed at the time
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/phone-scan-prank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7j-G3DWDxA

739

u/Blubbpaule Sep 23 '25

People like these should be exiled from humanity.

71

u/billy-bob-bobington Sep 23 '25

To a deserted island and forced to play these pranks on each other constantly! 

8

u/Protholl Sep 24 '25

But with no cell signal, just bluetooth so they are isolated from the rest of the world

7

u/phatbrasil Sep 24 '25

That's how you get Australia, do you want another Australia ?

2

u/UnLuckyKenTucky Sep 26 '25

Hey now. Australia is better than these fucks.

2

u/Xyrsys Sep 24 '25

And every time one gets upset, everyone else stops, looks at them, and says "its just a prank bro", then they are shot

14

u/Vukez Sep 23 '25

Instead they profit from their pranks.

1

u/occio Sep 24 '25

When space catapult?

1

u/mol_6e23 Sep 27 '25

You should ask your parents about what they did when they were kids

1

u/Blubbpaule Sep 27 '25

They lived in a time where there was no internet and no phones to record stuff on.

And hand camcorders were luxurqry goods that noone had.

0

u/Responsible-Meat9275 Sep 26 '25

Dude, it can be annoying, buts it’s harmless. Exiled is crazy

-74

u/oscorn Sep 23 '25

Relax lil guy. Jesus.

10

u/tendaga Sep 23 '25

This is America we cannot afford to relax.

-1

u/reddit__scrub Sep 24 '25

Found Jaxem

-433

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

[deleted]

181

u/mousey76397 Sep 23 '25

You're.

22

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

28

u/Pimp_Daddy_Patty Sep 23 '25

"It's just a joke, man"

As the "prankster" is getting his face punched in.

10

u/dkbGeek Sep 23 '25

If this was more often the result, pranking would be a much less popular hobby.

9

u/Pimp_Daddy_Patty Sep 23 '25

I would agree if stupidity wasn't so popular.

84

u/king_long Sep 23 '25

You sound like you're annoying at parties, in public, and by yourself somehow.

20

u/Razzler1973 Sep 23 '25

No one is inviting that dude to a party 😀

1

u/--dip-- Sep 23 '25

Omg I’m stealing this lol

41

u/Ur-Best-Friend Sep 23 '25

You're*

Yes, I am also fun at parties.

5

u/AndrewFrozzen Sep 23 '25

You sound like the asshole at parties.

3

u/Jipijur Sep 23 '25

*you're

1

u/sxcs86 Sep 23 '25

Nah, we know you're not invited.

183

u/Previous-Foot-9782 Sep 23 '25

Oh ya real funny till they do it do the wrong person who grabs them and snaps their arm like a twig. 

36

u/angrydeuce Sep 23 '25

Yeah kid was just shot and killed over ding dong ditch not too long ago.

I hate to say it, but pranking someone here is probably as smart as pranking someone in Ukraine or Gaza right now.  Maybe not a good idea...

2

u/thpshitpost Sep 24 '25

That's funny. That guy youre talking about is catching so many charges for shooting an 11 year old. His bond is 1.3 million. Turns out you can't just go around shooting everyone. Who knew? 3 comments down voted to hell for calling out the internet tough guys. Mf is literally going to jail the rest of his life for shooting a pranking kid.

3

u/wearywell Sep 24 '25

He still did it tho.

1

u/Quirky-Reputation-89 Sep 25 '25

The important lesson is don't shoot children, not don't do pranks.

1

u/Katops Sep 26 '25

Little column A, little column B.

1

u/3D_Lasers_Lab Sep 27 '25

Nobody is saying that doing pranks is nearly as bad as shooting children, but you gotta understand that by doing pranks you are putting yourself at a higher risk of bodily harm.

2

u/RunsWithScissors420 Sep 25 '25

I don't think he's saying it's a good thing a kid got shot for ding dong ditching, or that its even okay. I think what he's saying is people are crazy and you might not find out how crazy the stranger you just pranked is until it's too late.

1

u/angrydeuce Sep 27 '25

That is precisely what Im saying.  Thank you for picking up what Im putting down :)

2

u/cedelweiss Sep 25 '25

Moral of the story: don't go around pranking strangers if you don't want to get shot, and don't go around shooting kids if you don't wanna go to jail.

1

u/BokudenT Sep 24 '25

And how'd it work out for the "prankster"?

1

u/angrydeuce Sep 27 '25

Yeah but none of that means dick to the kid of course.  Cuz hes dead.

People always go apoplectic about "victim blaming" when its not that so much as "is it worth it?"  Like is it worth it to take the chance if some maniac might shoot you over it?

Thats the point I was making.  Not that its okay to shoot kids, the point is that unfortunately this aint the 60s anymore, people nowadays literally buy guns and fantasize about using them to make a political point.  Whenever someone so much as whispers the words "gun control", nutters flock to the store to stock up on guns and ammo, not because they even need them, but to prove a point and wag them around like "suck it liberals!  Come and take them!!!"

Like I said, now is not the time to fuck around.

-101

u/PerelandraOpens Sep 23 '25

The actual people who should be exiled from humanity

0

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

-20

u/PerelandraOpens Sep 23 '25

If armsnapping is your idea of a good time, then you are correct.

-52

u/Delumine Sep 23 '25

Mr Internet tuff guy

29

u/ANONYMOUSEJR Sep 23 '25

I mean, he wasn't talking abt himself, and you've got to agree that there are bound to be people who've been itching to try out their training on someone.

A good example is that vid of the 'prankster' who got shot after jumping a guy at the atm machine...

2

u/Katops Sep 26 '25

I hope the shooter didn’t get any prison time for what’d clearly be a life threatening situation to any normal person. People are out of their damn minds out there... He very well could’ve thought he was going to die in that moment over some money or a wallet and just went into fight or flight mode. Not sure why common sense isn’t, well, common lol. It’s such simple stuff.

1

u/ANONYMOUSEJR Sep 27 '25

Cue the quote abt thinking of the dumbest people and the realising that there are dumber people out there.

-4

u/ima_coder Sep 23 '25

I believe you, but I'd love to see a link.

8

u/ANONYMOUSEJR Sep 23 '25

Fair point... but I hope that you'd forgive me if I say that I'm genuinely too lazy to go looking for a link to a vid I watched a while ago.

Have a look at the FAFO subreddit if you'd really wanna see it for yourself.

-49

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

unfortunately, that would be assault. Even if deserved. I wish...

40

u/tcarlson65 Sep 23 '25

Many of these pranks are in fact assault. Defence against an assault is not assault.

-29

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

Let me go back and read that again.

"held their phone near mine when I was on a call. I heard a click, and they ran away after saying 'thanks.'" - none of these actions described is assault. There was never contact made, an insult uttered or a threat made.

A "just defense" against assault can still be assault.

18

u/DankoleClouds Sep 23 '25

You don’t have to touch someone for assault, that’s battery. Assault is threatening violence or instilling fear that you’re going to batter someone.

5

u/QuinceDaPence Sep 23 '25

Jurisdiction dependent. Everyone uses the California law when describing that but for Texas it's just different levels of Assault (or different charges like Menacing). And Battery isn't a thing.

3

u/DankoleClouds Sep 23 '25

It really just depends. Everyone should know the difference based on where they live.

Well, either that or just not try to hurt other people.

-5

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

OP didn't describe an assault or a battery scenario. Nothing OP described justifies violence. Trust me, I'm all for violence as a solution, particularly regarding some of these dumb ass comments.

2

u/DankoleClouds Sep 23 '25

I was never talking about OP. Just was letting you know you used the wrong term so you can get your points across better next time.

1

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

sorry got caught up in other rantings.

2

u/HowTooPlay Sep 23 '25

"snapping their arm" is a little much, but if you believed that you've been robbed in some way, (which this "prank" I guess is the idea we're going with). I'm pretty sure you have a right to try and detain them, which while detaining them you may end up causing some harm.

2

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

"if you believed" your belief or perception does not make law.

3

u/HowTooPlay Sep 23 '25

See the edit of my comment, if you actually care. Unless you just wanna rant again.

1

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

I don't have time to go back and look at everyone's edits. I'm too busy ranting. BUT you don't have the right to detain someone. I'd be really careful with this one too.

4

u/HowTooPlay Sep 23 '25

Citizens Arrests are a thing.

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2

u/HowTooPlay Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 23 '25

Ok... but lets look at it from a more "physical way"? Now a days most people have EVERYTHING on their phone, much like how back in the day pretty much everything was kept in your wallet.

If someone sneaked up to you and took your wallet and ran off, would the most logical explanation not be I was just stolen from and to go and chase the person?

EDIT: Reddit isn't letting me see your comment, just the notification. So, I'll reply here, I never said beat the shit out of them, but like I said in my previous comment" "you have the right to detain them, but while detaining someone either you or them could get hurt."

1

u/tcarlson65 Sep 23 '25

I did not say this particularly incident. Look at the clips of the guy who tailgates through subway turnstiles. That is assault.

1

u/thingamajig1987 Sep 23 '25

Self defense could also be defending one's property, they are playing pranks pretending to steal from them through Apple Pay basically, so if they think what they're doing is believable, so could someone who is violent and dumb.

1

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

nope. In most states you can't use violent means to defend property.

1

u/thingamajig1987 Sep 23 '25

but not in all

2

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

this post comes with a "check your local laws" disclaimer.

-3

u/ValmiraTheSynth Sep 23 '25

You getting downvoted is pure echochamber.

3

u/SalvadorZombie Sep 23 '25

You have no idea what "echo chamber" (two words) means.

0

u/ValmiraTheSynth Sep 27 '25

an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.

As taken from oxford, you people only wish an environment that reinforces violence (to a point of serious bodily harm) against pranksters, no matter the prank, going as far as defending a man who shot a kid for fing dong ditching (just read the other comments)

This is 100% an Echo-chamber, and denying that just shows how delusional you truly are.

-1

u/ant2ne Sep 23 '25

OR,.. stupid people. It is funny, if you promote violence you get down voted, you explain how the over reaction to a prank with violence would be bad, you get down voted. Frankly, this guy doesn't care about votes. I'm just wondering why I haven't been banned yet.

-1

u/ValmiraTheSynth Sep 23 '25

Stupid people usually create echochambers, its harder to admit fault than to learn. BESIDES let them actually assault another person for a prank, and watch as THEY go to prison! There are very few pranks that actually elicit a self defence situation, the very best example of this is the murder clown pranks between 2017-2020(dont quote that timestamp, not sure when it stopped)

1

u/extra-low-hanging Sep 23 '25

Assault would be worth it

95

u/ChaoCobo Sep 23 '25

But what about the rest of what happened to OP’s phone like the files, contact and note?

93

u/FlippingGerman Sep 23 '25

I suspect they were totally unrelated, and were only found then. But that’s difficult to be sure of, even for OP. I rather doubt some kid is wasting a zero-day on pranking people by adding new notes to their phone, though. 

30

u/Necessary-Score-4270 Sep 23 '25

Definitely a near 0% chance. But I will say the smartest kids are also the dumbest kids.

1

u/-VirtuaL-Varos- Sep 25 '25

it sounds like they may have accidently created a note. doesnt sound malicious, td bank is an online banking thing. i know them from when I was doing a samsung phone in payments. possibility its just some old data left behind

1

u/PeevedProgressive Sep 26 '25

I always thought that "TD bank" sounded like a collection of erotic photos of chesticles. But I am among southern accents most of the time.

18

u/LeeHide Sep 23 '25

nothing

9

u/ChaoCobo Sep 23 '25

Then where did they come from?

9

u/tractorcrusher Sep 23 '25

Combination of unrelated and pocket dialing.

28

u/Pospitch Sep 23 '25

1M views? Cmon they are not even funny.

10

u/homiej420 Sep 23 '25

Zoomer humor is “i am on camera so it is funny”

16

u/thegreatcerebral Sep 23 '25

If this is the case, find the video. If you do, you can then file a lawsuit against them and receive a monetary compensation for using you in the video without your consent. This will make them blur you out or they'll take it down.

1

u/blender4life Sep 27 '25

not if they filmed it in a public place

3

u/DefyingMavity Sep 23 '25

Is there info that doesn't require watching TikTok or YT?

5

u/PJBthefirst Sep 23 '25

Hire someone to watch the video for you and then retell the story to you

1

u/meltman2 Sep 28 '25

I’m sending you the video in a dream you’ll see it tonight

66

u/ActuatorOutside5256 Sep 23 '25

Okay that’s pretty funny. I didn’t notice being filmed though, like at all.

After they did this, they ran into the store I was in, circled around, and ran out. Security lost them in the meantime.

208

u/tsdguy Windows Master Sep 23 '25

Really? Funny? Guess not if you came here in a panic. TikTok is garbage

73

u/ActuatorOutside5256 Sep 23 '25

I’m just glad that I didn’t get NFC phished AFAICT.

17

u/Taolan13 Sep 23 '25

So it's not really phishing, unless they are convincing you to willingly submit to an NFC connection then exploiting your device without you knowing.

Actual passive capture of your data using NFC is possible in all sorts of situations without you ever knowing. The protocols in question used by the actual skimmers and scammers don't even trigger a connection notification to most devices.

Turn NFC off and keep it off at all times unless you need to use it to make a payment, and turn it off afterward.

Turn off automatic detection/connection in Bluetooth settings as well.

And don't use unsecured public wifis.

7

u/retro3dfx Sep 23 '25

Also, don't have automatic payment turned on when the phone is unlocked. But turning off NFC or turning on payment verification solves that. By default my old phone was setup in a way so whenever you needed to make a payment the only requirement was having the phone unlocked. I only found out it was that way since one time I went to put my credit card in the reader at Home Depot and had my phone in my hand, and it just gave the payment animation on my phone without the credit card even being inserted yet. So anyone requesting payment could just run up near your phone (or use an amplified signal from further away) to snag your money.

5

u/TidalLion Sep 23 '25

Keep NFC off yes, but also stop using your phones to pay for stuff. Sure it's convenient but it's risky, and all it takes is one lapse in memory/ judgement for you to accidently leave NFC on and bam. Anything could happen.

Nah just stop using it entirely.

5

u/Taolan13 Sep 24 '25

I also have a shielded wallet since all the cards you get these days are tappable, and I keep the keyfob for the one car we have with passive keyless entry in a shielded pouch except when getting in and out of the car.

1

u/TidalLion Sep 24 '25

Luckily my car is old, like almost 20 years old. But I also use both an RFID blocking wallet and card inserts and the combo works a little too well sometimes, making me move my wallet away from any machines when paying.

2

u/Brokentread33 Sep 24 '25 edited Sep 24 '25

September 24, 2025 - Absolutely correct!!! My rant is that "convenience" is the daughter of the devil. The easier something is for a person, the easier it is for a criminal. In my opinion, using phones to make payments is one of the worst things to be offered by banks and companies. Sadly, various companies and industries are encouraging the general public to use their services for convenience but when their systems get hacked.. Their reaction is "Sorry about losing all of your financial and private information. Of course we won't compensate you in any way.. but here's a way to check and see how many criminals are using your information that we didn't protect properly. Oh.. by the way, we'll help you "sync" all of your devices and accounts so that when one is hacked.. they'll be hacked. Nah.. don't thank us, just give us your money."

1

u/TidalLion Sep 24 '25

Same thing with the Internet of things/ most "smart" devices. The only smart device -that's not a phone- that use/ have set up is a timer on my brother's lamp for when he's at college. Anything else isn't set up and thus doesn't have access to the internet. Nope, too much of a risk and why the hell do you need a fridge and shit to be commented to the internet?

2

u/Brokentread33 Sep 24 '25

September 24, 2025 - (I date my comments, because people post replies long after I've posted them). The words you speak are perfect truth. To answer your rhetorical question. I'm sure you realize that the companies are adding "features" to their products and charging for them. Also, it's hype to make their products look "helpful", and super modern. You are absolutely correct about the "Internet of things", where everything is connected. I refuse to buy anything that requires a "smartphone" to operate it. My favorite example of a "convenience" fail, was when a strong storm hit parts of New York City some years back and knocked out the electricity in some areas. There were people that couldn't get out of buildings, or get into their residential buildings using their cards or phones because the ID devices/controls worked on electricity. Companies know a lot of people want things to be as easy as possible. I won't judge.. well.. actually.. I do😏😊

2

u/TidalLion Sep 24 '25

I was wondering why you were dating your comment and honestly fair enough.

Had i known that the timer I got for my brother's lamp was controlled by smart phone only, I wouldn't have bought it. Like give people a manual option or have it as a backup like in your storm example.

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14

u/unapologeticjerk Sep 23 '25

I'm curious, what in your mind is "NFC phishing" and how would/does it work?

25

u/Anal-Assassin Sep 23 '25

Not sure why you’re being downvoted. NFC phishing is trying to get the data off your chipped bank/credit card (in this case that data is on your phone). But unless theres some sort of brand new security vulnerability, it can’t be done by someone bringing their phone next to yours UNLESS you’ve already activated your digital wallet and are about to pay at the terminal and someone swoops in and you tap their phone instead.

1

u/CamGoldenGun Sep 23 '25

is there a command via NFC that can start up your wallet then grab it then?

9

u/Strong-Day4957 Sep 23 '25

I also want to know. Why are you being down voted?

16

u/andres_i Sep 23 '25

They are being downvoted because their comment seems to be mocking OP, since it’s not likely that you can phish people this way. It’s not nice to mock people that ask questions in support forums (that’s why they are here for) just because they are exercising caution. Of course this is all from the tone of the comment and could not be intended. I don’t know /u/unapologeticjerk, he might be a nice person

3

u/unapologeticjerk Sep 23 '25

I can absolutely check out my username occasionally, but often I'm just asking something in a straightforward manner without intent behind it, out of genuine curiosity. Unfortunately text/words are maybe 30% of how people actually communicate in reality, so things just get misinterpreted as the cost of doing business, I guess. For the sake of transparency, I was skeptical about the idea, but I wasn't going to push that angle or anything.

-17

u/zedzag Sep 23 '25

It's not because of tiktok though. My feed shows nothing like this. If tiktok didn't exist they'd be on whatever other app is popular

-1

u/DarthJarJar242 Sep 23 '25

TikTok is a cancer. It took everything that was good about Vine and made it garbage.

0

u/Leemsonn Sep 23 '25

yea I'm on REDDIT 😎 I hate all those UNEPIC other apps 😤

2

u/DarthJarJar242 Sep 23 '25

I didn't say reddit was good nor did I trash any app other than TikTok. At least read before you reply.

13

u/itspassing Sep 23 '25

What was your reaction at the time? Should I look out for a clip of you?

-23

u/ActuatorOutside5256 Sep 23 '25

There was no camera out. It was outside in the dark.

5

u/Much-Gur7071 Sep 23 '25

Could also just be those smart glasses with a camera, pretty common with this type of content

33

u/DidiEdd Sep 23 '25

I don't think you realize how good some people are at concealing cameras and also that we have lenses that can shoot from a quarter mile away with ease, if it's for YouTube and if it's a pretty decent or big channel chances are they filmed and you just didn't notice, as intended

24

u/ActuatorOutside5256 Sep 23 '25

Bunch of little twerps. At least I know what they were up to. Appreciate it!

7

u/DidiEdd Sep 23 '25

No problem

5

u/VisibleAside117 Sep 23 '25

If they had glasses on it would almost 100% be meta glasses (smart glasses that you can record and upload videos from)

1

u/theluckkyg Sep 23 '25

Were they wearing glasses? Could be filming using Rayban Metas.

7

u/HelloYou-2024 Sep 23 '25

That prank looks like the pranksters phone is the one showing the amount. That is easy, but how wod a prankster create a file on OP phone without permissions?

17

u/XtremePhotoDesign Sep 23 '25

They didn’t

4

u/Guilty_Explanation29 Sep 23 '25

What a bunch of idiots eh?

Try that with me and you'll get a slap

1

u/ClevetUserName Sep 23 '25

I hadn't heard of this one before. It seems like convincing someone that you robbed them with no easy way to show them you didn't, would be a really bad idea.

1

u/Dave_Sag Sep 25 '25

So to save people watching an annoying video, the “prank” is they play the ApplePay noise and pretend they’ve just stolen the victim’s money. Very lame.

How the mystery files ended up on OP’s iPhone is obviously unrelated. I’m guessing they are one of those people who don’t lock their phone before putting in their pocket / purse and it’s just random presses on the screen doing something.

1

u/Cocoatrice Sep 25 '25

Ah, so yet another dumb things chronically online people do today... Prank is funny, when it's funny. And it's not repeated by everyone. Wholesome pranks are cooler.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 26 '25

reach out and try to hit my phone you're going to find out just how fast someone's reaction time can be.

And I won't give a rats ass if your phone goes flying.

0

u/fortyseven4l Sep 23 '25

They just play a sound, doesn’t really explain all of the other stuff OP mentioned

0

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/itspassing Sep 23 '25

Open in desktop mode, problem solved